Seasons in the Sun
by Tarribabe
Summary: Pacey has to come to terms with his impending death 3 years after losing the love of his life. This is a bad summary but please R&R. **COMPLETE**
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or the song. I also don't have anything worth suing me for, so I wouldn't waste my time trying if I was you.

Seasons in the Sun

Chapter One

Capeside 2009

Joey's mother had died of cancer when Joey was only a child. She had grown up parentless, her sister playing both the roles of sister and mother. She owed a lot to Bessie, and as she walked toward the B&B she thought about what she was going to say to her today. This was going to kill Bessie. Ten year old Alex was playing in the yard with 8 year old Lily. 

"Hey Aunt Jo, mom's in the kitchen helping dad cook dinner. Are you staying for dinner tonight?"

"Not tonight, honey. I have to go home and cook dinner for Uncle Pacey and Michelle."

"Oh. Ok. I guess I'll see you later."

"Yeah, you two have fun. And be careful."

"We will, Aunt Jo."

Joey started walking toward the back door. She still had no idea how she was going to tell Bessie. If it was this hard to tell her sister, how was she ever going to tell Pacey. Joey couldn't really believe it herself, how did she expect them to take the news. When she entered the B&B she could here Bessie and Bodie having a good time cooking dinner together. It broke her heart to hear them so happy. She walked up to the kitchen doorway and just watched for a couple of minutes. 

"Hey," she finally said, softly.

"Joey, I didn't know you were coming over tonight. I thought you had an appointment with the doctor? What's up?"

"I…I was on my way home and I wanted to stop and talk to you about something."

"I'll just go upstairs and check on the bathroom. We're having problems with it again. I'll leave you two alone," said Bodie.

"No. I want to talk to both of you. Please stay," said Joey.

"Okay. Are you alright Jo? You look like something is bothering you. What did the doctor say?" asked Bodie.

"Um…he said…I mean…nothing's for sure yet…they're still waiting for some test results, but…well…I'm dying."

"What?" cried a shocked Bessie.

"Yeah, I have a tumor on one of my ovaries. The doctor's pretty sure it's cancerous."

"Can't they do something? I mean there are treatments right?" said Bessie, who was crying uncontrollably by now.

"It's too late. We didn't catch it in time. I can try radiation and chemotherapy but they don't think it will do any good. The doctor doesn't know how much longer I'll live. Maybe only a couple of weeks." Joey was crying now too, and shaking so badly she could hardly stand up. Bodie and Bessie both came over and put their arms around her. 

"How did Pacey take it?" asked Bodie after a few minutes.

"He doesn't know yet. I haven't been home since the doctor. I don't know how to tell him."

"Oh, Joey. Why? Why did this have to happen to you?"

"I don't know. I don't want to die."

Joey stayed at the B&B for a little while longer because she needed to calm down before going home to face Pacey. She finally got up to leave after promising Bessie that she would call as soon as the test results came in and she had made a decision about treatment. As she drove back to her own home, the house Jen had lived in with Grams, she thought about her time with Pacey. They had gotten married a year after college and moved back to Capeside so that Joey could be close to Bessie and Bodie. Joey took a job at the high school teaching art and Pacey teaching English. A year after marrying they had a daughter, whom they named Michelle. That was two years ago, and now at the age of 26, Joey was dying. Joey pulled into her driveway, got out of the car, took a deep breath, and went inside. Pacey met her at the door with a worried look on his face.

"Where were you? You should have been home hours ago."

"I stopped to see Bessie and Bodie."

"What did the doctor say?" Pacey asked, still looking worried.

"The doctor…" that's all she could say before breaking into tears again.  
"Jo?" said Pacey, with tears in his eyes. "No…"

Joey couldn't say anything so she just nodded slightly.

"NO!!!!!!!" shouted Pacey, and then he grabbed his keys off the table and ran out the door, leaving Joey behind to sink to the floor in tears. 

Three months later

Pacey held onto Michelle tightly, willing himself to be strong for her. He looked around with tears in his eyes at the large group of people surrounding him. Bessie and Bodie were here with Alex and Dawson was here with his parents and sister. Jen, Jack, Andie and Grams were standing behind them. Pacey's parents were there with Gretchen and Doug. Any of the students who knew Joey, either from an art class or just because she was the most popular teacher at Capeside High were there too. Drue Valentine was standing at the back of the crowd with his head hung down. Pacey blocked them all out as the minister started talking about how wonderful Joey had been and how lucky they all were for knowing her. Michelle started crying. She was too young to understand what was going on, she only knew that her mother wasn't with her anymore. Her mother wasn't going to be with her ever again. At the proper moment, Pacey stepped forward to drop flowers onto the casket. When the funeral was over everybody came to console him and give him hugs and tell him how sorry they were that Joey was dead. Nobody understood what he was going through though. Nobody understood that he didn't know how he was going to go on without Joey. He knew he had to of course, for Michelle's sake, but how? Bessie took Michelle home with her and Pacey stayed while the cemetery crew filled in the fresh grave. Then he just sat there, staring at the pile of dirt. He didn't cry…couldn't cry. He had cried in the past, and he knew he would cry in the months to come, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to cry now. So he just sat there for hours, staring at the grave of his wife…his soul mate. Finally he got up to leave, but before he got very far he turned around and walked back to her grave. 

"I love you, Jo, I'll always love you," he whispered. And from somewhere in the distance he heard a response, whispered back to him and carried by the wind. "I love you too, Pacey."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or the song. I also don't have anything worth suing me for, so I wouldn't waste my time trying if I was you.

Seasons in the Sun

Chapter Two

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Goodbye to you my trusted friend

We've know each other since we were nine or ten

Together we've climbed hills and trees

Learned of love and abc's

Skinned our hearts and 

Skinned our knees

Goodbye my friend its hard to die

When all the birds are singing in the sky

Now that spring is in the air

Pretty girls are everywhere

Think of me and I'll be there

3 years later

Dawson walked in the house and looked around. He hadn't been in this house for a long time. He had been here for Joey's funeral and then he had visited a couple of times after that, but usually Pacey brought Michelle out to California to visit her Uncle Dawson. He walked into the living room and smiled at the toys littering the floor. The television was on and he found himself watching Winnie the Pooh. He remembered how Joey had loved Winnie the Pooh when she was a little girl. He continued into the kitchen, but didn't find anyone in there either. Finally he started yelling for Pacey.

"Pacey, where the hell are you?"

"We're down at the creek Dawson."  
"Ok. I'll be right down."

Dawson threw his keys on the kitchen table and hung his jacket on the back of a chair. Then he let himself out the back door and walked down to join Pacey and Michelle where they were fishing. 

"It's good to see you, man," said Pacey with a grin. Dawson couldn't believe his eyes. Surely this wasn't the same Pacey he had grown up with. He was too thin, a little too pale. It was like this was the first time he had ventured out into the sun in years. Dawson knew that he had taken Joey's death hard, but surely he was out of his depression by now. Pacey smiled as five year old Michelle ran into the creek chasing her dog. 

"What's up Pace?"

"Dawson, I'm glad you came. I need to talk to you about something."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or the song. I also don't have anything worth suing me for, so I wouldn't waste my time trying if I was you.

Seasons in the Sun

Chapter Three

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Goodbye papa please pray for me

I was the black sheep of the family

You tried to teach me right from wrong

Too much wine and too much song

Wonder how I got along

Goodbye papa it's hard to die

When all the birds are singing in the sky

Now that spring is in the air

Little children everywhere

When you see them I'll be there

3 Days Later

Pacey slowed his pace as he got closer to his father's house. He figured it was time to tell his father what was going on. His father still lived in the same house Pacey had grown up in. Pacey's mother and father had been in a car accident a year and a half ago. His mother was dead and his father was confined to a wheelchair. Subsequently his father had retired from his position of sheriff and Doug had taken it over. Pacey knocked on the door once before entering the house. He was pale and he was shaky and out of breath when he walked into the kitchen, where his father was making lunch for himself.

"Hey Pops. How's it going?"

"You look like crap. Have you started drinking again?"

"No dad, I'm not drinking."

"Then why do you look so bad?"

"Well, dad, that would be because I'm sick."

"You shouldn't be out running if you have the flu."

"I don't have the flu, pops. And I haven't been running. I walked."

"So what is it? A cold?"

"No, it's not a cold. I have cancer, dad."

"That's impossible," his father said simply.

"It's not impossible dad. It's very possible, and it's happening. I've been going through treatment for months, but it doesn't look too good. I don't think I'm going to make it, and I just thought you should know."

"Oh, Pacey. What about Michelle?" his father said. Pacey could see that tears were starting to form in his eyes. 

"Dawson's going to take care of her. He promised to take her out to California to live with him and Andie if anything happens to me."

"But California is so far away. Why don't you let me take care of her?"  
Pacey thought back on his upbringing and knew without a doubt that he did not want John Witter raising his daughter. It was true that he had gotten closer to his father, but that hadn't happened until after the car accident. "She'd be too much trouble for you to take care of dad. And I can't put this extra burden on Bessie and Bodie, she's pregnant again you know. Besides, Dawson offered to take her."

"Well all right. He'll bring her back to visit though, right?"

"Of course he will."

"And I want to spend some time with the two of you in the next couple of weeks."

"Sure thing, Pops."  
Pacey stayed and talked to his father for a little while longer. He promised to bring Michelle over for lunch the next day. When Pacey got up to leave his father grabbed his arm and looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "I know I gave you a hard time when you were growing up, but please, don't ever doubt that I loved you. I love you with all of my heart and I want you to know that before it's too late to tell you."

"I love you too dad."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or the song. I also don't have anything worth suing me for, so I wouldn't waste my time trying if I was you.

Seasons in the Sun

Chapter Four

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Goodbye Michelle my little one

You gave me love and helped me find the sun

And every time that I was down

You would always come around

And get my feet back on the ground

Goodbye Michelle it's hard to die

When all the birds are singing in the sky

Now that the spring is in the air

With the flowers everywhere

I wish that we could both be there

3 Months Later

Pacey watched quietly as his daughter chased after her dog. Dawson had called the night before to talk about a few things. After he had gone back to California, he had a long talk with his wife Andie. They had decided that when Pacey died they were going to move into the Witter house to take care of Michelle. They had decided that it would be a bad idea to take the young girl away from everything and everyone she knows right after losing the only parent she has left. Besides, this way Dawson could be close to his parents and sister, and Bessie and Bodie and Andie would be close to her brother Jack. Pacey couldn't be more grateful for that. 

A smile came to Pacey's face as Michelle shrieked with glee. His time was growing short. He could tell, even without the doctor's telling him. Treatments weren't helping anymore. The cancer was growing, taking over most of Pacey's body, leaving him in constant pain. He decided it was time to tell Michelle. It was getting too hard to hide it any longer. Joey's birthday was coming up and Pacey had been trying to wait until after that, but he didn't think he would make it that long. He knew that sooner would be better so he decided to go ahead and get it over with. He sighed while watching his daughter, knowing that next to losing Joey this was the hardest thing he ever had to do. 

"Michelle, sweetheart, will you please come talk to daddy for a little while?" he called out to her. Michelle looked up and grinned at her father. "Of course, daddy," she said as she began running over to him.

"Michelle, I need to talk to you about something. It's really important."

"Is it because you are sick? You're going to get better soon, right?"

"Yes, sweetie, it's because I'm sick. I've been in a lot of pain lately, but it's going to go away soon. I'm going to have to go away soon."

"When will you be back, daddy?"

"I'm not going to be back. I have to go away like mommy did, but Uncle Dawson and Aunt Andie are going to come take care of you. And Aunt Bessie and Uncle Bodie, and Grandpa Witter and Uncle Doug will all be here. And you can still play with Alex and Lily and Josh."

"Are you going to take care of mommy?"

"Yes, sweetie, I'm going to take care of mommy." 

"Will I still get to visit her on her birthday and take her flowers?"

"Of course you will."

"Good. I love you daddy."

"I love you too Michelle."  
"Can I go play with Duke again now?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Michelle ran off to go play with her dog again. Pacey leaned back in his chair, shut his eyes, and sighed. It was obvious to him that Michelle didn't understand what he was trying to tell her. She was going to be devastated when it finally happened and there was nothing he could do to help her. He just hoped that Dawson could. 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or the song. I also don't have anything worth suing me for, so I wouldn't waste my time trying if I was you.

Seasons in the Sun

Chapter Five

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We had joy we had fun

We had seasons in the sun

But the hills that we climbed 

Were just seasons out of time

We had joy we had fun 

We had seasons in the sun

But the wine and the songs 

Like the seasons have all gone

3 Weeks Later

Michelle got her wish, just not the way she expected it. She was in the cemetery on her mother's birthday and she did have flowers to place on Joey's grave, but that would come later. First she had to make it through her father's funeral. She looked around at the group of people surrounding her. She didn't remember her mother's funeral, but she was sure that the same people had been there. Uncle Dawson and Aunt Andie were with her and Uncle Dawson's parents and Lily were standing behind them. Aunt Bessie and Uncle Bodie were there with Alex. Grandpa Witter and Uncle Doug, Jack and Jen along with her husband and their son, Josh, and her Grams. Daddy's old friend Will Krudsky was here today too. The only person Michelle didn't recognize was a woman around the same age as Mr. and Mrs. Leery who was standing by herself at the back of the crowd. Michelle found out later that the lady's name was Miss Jacobs and that she was a teacher at the high school for part of a year when her parents went there. Michelle couldn't figure out why the lady had come to her father's funeral though. Maybe he was one of her favorite students or something. 

Michelle made it through most of the funeral without crying. She knew that it was okay to cry and that everyone was worried about her because she wasn't crying more, but for some reason she just couldn't do it. After the funeral she stayed by her parents graves by herself to talk to her mother. 

"Happy birthday mommy. I brought you flowers. Lilies…your favorite. I know that everyone thinks I should be sad about daddy leaving, but I'm not. I'm glad that daddy is going to take care of you now. I have a whole bunch of people to take care of me, but you didn't have anyone. You need daddy. I know that you two will take good care of each other. I love you both. I'll talk to you again soon. Bye mommy."

After she finished visiting her mother Michelle walked over to Uncle Dawson's car and rode home with him and Aunt Andie to her house. She knew that her life was changing forever, but she knew that everyone would take care of her. 

13 Years Later

Michelle stood in front of her mirror looking at her reflection in awe. She had the perfect mixture of her parents good looks. At least that is what everyone told her. She looked at their picture one more time and smiled sadly. She hated that they had missed out on watching her grow up. She hated how her family and friends had to fill her in on what her parents where like. How they had gotten together, all of the difficulties they had to surpass in order to stay together. Now, as she was getting ready for her senior prom, she wished again that she had had more time with them. She went to visit their graves a few times a year, but she wanted more than that. She wanted to hear them, to hear the voices she hadn't heard in over ten years. 

There was a knock at the door and her Aunt Andie walked in. " Joshua will be here any minute. How are you doing?"

"Good. Almost ready."

"I have the perfect jewelry to compliment your dress. It'll look great on you. Here you go," her aunt said as she handed Michelle a jewelry box. Michelle opened it and found a pair of gorgeous diamond earrings, a diamond tennis bracelet and a matching necklace.

"Aunt Andie, you shouldn't have," she sighed. 

"Actually, I didn't. They're your mother's. I think it's time you had them."

"Thank you so much. Will you help me please?" Michelle asked with tears in her eyes. 

They had just finished applying the jewelry and touching up her makeup when the door bell rang. Dawson opened the door and let Joshua Valentine into the house along with his parents, Jen and Drue. Michelle came down and pictures were taken, then Michelle and Joshua headed to their senior prom. 

Three weeks later Michelle was getting ready for her graduation when her Uncle Dawson entered her room. He had a video tape in his hand and tears in his eyes. "I found this up in the attic. I added some stuff to it and I wanted you to have it," he said as he handed her the tape. "I thought you might like to have it when you go to Worthington in the fall." Michelle didn't have time to watch it until much later, after graduation and the post graduation parties that she and Josh attended together. She popped the tape into the VCR, turned on the TV, and settled down to watch it. She didn't really know what to expect, but somehow she wasn't surprised to see her mother fill the screen. Joey was probably around fifteen, laying on the dock. Suddenly a cheesy looking sea monster jumped out of the water and attacked her. The scene jumped to her mother walking off the dock, followed by her father, in the sea monster costume minus the head, both looking very disgusted about something. Her mother was arguing with someone, probable Uncle Dawson, about not wanting to kiss her father. From this the scene changed to her parents bickering during a trip to Witch Island with Uncle Dawson and Aunt Jen, then to her father performing in a school play, then her mother organizing a rally to save their principal's job. After all of this came her parents wedding. Her mother looked so beautiful in her wedding gown. Then there were a couple scenes of her parents together while her mother was pregnant and finally a scene with her mother holding Michelle as a newborn while Pacey stood behind them. Both of them had tears in their eyes and expressions of joy and love were on their faces. 

"She's the most perfect baby in the world," said Joey quietly.

"That's because she's ours," answered Pacey, just as quietly. Then he leaned over and kissed Joey gently on the forehead as she held their sleeping daughter. 

Michelle rewound the tape and watched it over and over again. The next morning at breakfast she hugged the man she had always called her uncle fiercely, then fighting back tears she said, "Thank you so much Uncle Dawson. It's the perfect gift."


End file.
